Investing to help future generations of children
Meet Mark who has been a proud Child Sponsor since 1997. A few years ago, Mark and his wife, Kirsty, visited their sponsored child in Vietnam.
In addition to sponsoring a child, Mark also made the incredible decision to help future generations by leaving a gift in his Will! Hear why Mark chose to leave a charitable Legacy:
“It didn’t seem right not to leave a bequest. We live such fortunate lives here in New Zealand. We have the chance to do good and to know that every bit – whether it seems small or great – makes a difference.
Think of a bequest as a lifetime’s investment in doing good. I’ve sponsored a child for many years – first in Brazil and now in Vietnam. These are lifelong bonds and they come from our ability to make change. They don’t just end when the sponsorship ends and they shouldn’t just end when we’re not here anymore.
My wife and I visited the child we sponsor in Vietnam and we saw that nothing is wasted: everything that is needed to improve the community is being used sustainably. People work hard to make these improvements and they do everything they can with the funding they get. We saw it for ourselves and it confirmed the decision we’d made.
We know that our funds will be invested responsibly by ChildFund and we know that we’ll continue to make a difference, many years into the future. At the end of the day, it was an easy decision to make.”
Leaving a legacy to help children
Whether you're younger or older, you clearly care about helping children (that's why you're reading this). Making the decision to leave a bequest in your will that one day will help lots of children can be for any adult Kiwi.
‘Am I too young to write a will?’ It’s one of the questions we get a lot, and this isn’t unexpected given that almost half the population of New Zealand doesn’t have a will.
We put the question to our friends at Footprint (New Zealand's largest online will provider) to get you the best advice possible. Here’s what they said.
‘Having a will is like writing the final chapter of your story. Without one, people won’t know what happens to everything you’ve worked your entire life towards. It gives you the perfect opportunity to say who gets what of your important stuff. Whether you have something specific you’d like to give to your mother, father, best friend, partner or charity - a will can outline any specific gift requests after you’re gone. For young people, it might seem a little strange to think of getting a will now, but there is a vast history of people who are no longer with us that thought they still had plenty of time to get things sorted later. Getting a will is only a little about us and more about the massive difference it makes to the people we leave behind.
The legal age to get a will in New Zealand is 18 years young. Wills are not just for those with kids and a house - you also need a legal will if you have a KiwiSaver account worth over $15,000. Once something reaches a value of $15,000 it’s considered an asset by law. If you die without a will, your family would have to apply to the courts to gain access to any of these funds/assets.'
If you’d like to leave a legacy that’ll help children in need, contact the friendly ChildFund team at 0800 808 822 or email bequests@childfund.org.nz. If you don’t yet have a will you can write one with Footprint today, and guarantee around-the-clock digital access to your will and supportive documents.
For a confidential and obligation-free chat with a very friendly and helpful ChildFund team member, call on 0800 808 822 to discuss your legacy for children in need.
Read more on leaving a legacy to help children
It takes a truly remarkable person to spend a lifetime doing good, and to keep helping others – even after they have gone. That's why we are honoured to share the incredible example of Joan Murphy with you.
You can look after tomorrow's children today
Whether you're younger or older, you clearly care about helping children (that's why you're reading this). Making the decision to leave a bequest in your will that one day will help lots of children can be for any adult Kiwi.
No age is too young to leave a legacy for children
‘Am I too young to write a will?’ It’s one of the questions we get a lot, and this isn’t unexpected given that almost half the population of New Zealand doesn’t have a will. We put the question to our friends at Footprint (New Zealand's largest online will provider) to get you the best advice possible.